Mohammed Assaf (Arabic: محمد عساف; b. 10 September 1989) is a Palestinian singer well known for being the winner of the second season of Arab Idol, broadcast by the MBC network. He was given the nickname Asaroukh ("The Rocket") by Lebanese singer and Arab Idol judge Ragheb Alama. In 2013, Assaf was named a goodwill ambassador for peace by The United Nations Relief and Works Agency for Palestine Refugees (UNRWA). He was also named ambassador of culture and arts by the Palestinian government and was offered a position with "diplomatic standing" by the Palestinian president Mahmood Abbas.
Assaf was acclaimed by the jury and the public and was compared to the late Egyptian legend Abdel Halim Hafez through his voice as well as his appearance. People have used part of the late Egyptian singer's name and merged it with Assaf's, as in Assaf Hilm Falastine ("Assaf Palestine’s Dream") His victory received world-wide coverage from the media and was welcomed with joy by Palestinians and the rest of the Arab world.
He was born in Misrata, Libya to Palestinian parents from Gaza Strip, Palestine.His mother's family hails from the village of Beit Daras, which was ethnically cleansed by Zionist paramilitary forces in 1948 and his father's family is from Beersheba, both localities in present-day Israel.Assaf and his parents returned to the refugee camp at Khan Yunis in the Gaza Strip when he was four years old. He is one of seven siblings, three of whom, including Assaf, have been involved in performing live music. Assaf's mother Intisar, a mathematics teacher, has stated that Assaf began singing at the age of five and "had a voice of someone who was much, much older." Before his role on the television show he was attending Gaza City's Palestine University majoring in media and Public relations.
Assaf did not have professional training as a singer; he started his career singing at weddings and other private events. He entered the public view in 2000 during a popular local television program where he called in and sung a nationalist song to the host's praise. Afterward, he was frequently offered contracts with local record companies.Sometime after his first performance, he sang in a local event in Gaza attended by late Palestinian president Yasser Arafat.
Mohammad Assaf traveled from Gaza Strip to Egypt to audition for Arab Idol. It took him two days to reach Egypt by car due to complications on the border. At the beginning, he had to convince the Egyptian security at the border crossing, where he was stuck for two days, to leave Gaza. Once he reached the hotel where the auditions were taking place, the doors were closed in which they did not accept anymore auditions so he jumped over the wall. After he jumped over the wall, he couldn't get a number to audition; he sat hopelessly in the hall where other contestants who were waiting for their turn. He started singing to the contestants, and a Palestinian contestant, Ramadan Abu Nahel, who was waiting to audition heard him and gave him his number saying, "I know I won't reach the finals but you will."
He sang Ragheb Alama's song during one of the primes on Arab Idol. Alama surprised him with a gesture in appreciation for his performance, granting him the right to sing and release his song "Ya Rayt Fiyyi Khabiha" as a duet with the Lebanese singer.[citation needed] Ahlam, an Emirati singer and judge on the show, said of Assaf, "I feel when you are singing, I am the guest in a big concert and you are the star," while Lebanese singer Nancy Ajram was impressed with him, calling Assaf "a true singer" after one of his performances. Hassan El Shafei compared Assaf's voice to a tuner, indicating how Assaf has complete control over his voice.
Assaf's final performance was his rendition of "Ali al-keffiyeh" ("Raise Your Keffiyeh"), a Palestinian nationalist anthem and called on Palestinians to raise their keffiyehs (a traditional Arab headdress that has become a Palestinian nationalist symbol) and to unite, in light of the split between the two major Palestinian factions, Hamas and Fatah. Hundreds of thousands of Palestinians had watched tuned in to watch his performance. On 22 June Assaf was declared the winner of Arab Idol, winning the most votes and coming ahead of two other competitors, Ahmed Jamal and Farah Youssef, from Egypt and Syria, respectively. Massive celebrations by Palestinians ensued after the announcement of his victory, including festivities held on the streets of Gaza City, East Jerusalem, Nablus,Ramallah, Bethlehem, Khan Yunis, Nazareth, Lebanon and Jordan.
Assaf was acclaimed by the jury and the public and was compared to the late Egyptian legend Abdel Halim Hafez through his voice as well as his appearance. People have used part of the late Egyptian singer's name and merged it with Assaf's, as in Assaf Hilm Falastine ("Assaf Palestine’s Dream") His victory received world-wide coverage from the media and was welcomed with joy by Palestinians and the rest of the Arab world.
He was born in Misrata, Libya to Palestinian parents from Gaza Strip, Palestine.His mother's family hails from the village of Beit Daras, which was ethnically cleansed by Zionist paramilitary forces in 1948 and his father's family is from Beersheba, both localities in present-day Israel.Assaf and his parents returned to the refugee camp at Khan Yunis in the Gaza Strip when he was four years old. He is one of seven siblings, three of whom, including Assaf, have been involved in performing live music. Assaf's mother Intisar, a mathematics teacher, has stated that Assaf began singing at the age of five and "had a voice of someone who was much, much older." Before his role on the television show he was attending Gaza City's Palestine University majoring in media and Public relations.
Assaf did not have professional training as a singer; he started his career singing at weddings and other private events. He entered the public view in 2000 during a popular local television program where he called in and sung a nationalist song to the host's praise. Afterward, he was frequently offered contracts with local record companies.Sometime after his first performance, he sang in a local event in Gaza attended by late Palestinian president Yasser Arafat.
Mohammad Assaf traveled from Gaza Strip to Egypt to audition for Arab Idol. It took him two days to reach Egypt by car due to complications on the border. At the beginning, he had to convince the Egyptian security at the border crossing, where he was stuck for two days, to leave Gaza. Once he reached the hotel where the auditions were taking place, the doors were closed in which they did not accept anymore auditions so he jumped over the wall. After he jumped over the wall, he couldn't get a number to audition; he sat hopelessly in the hall where other contestants who were waiting for their turn. He started singing to the contestants, and a Palestinian contestant, Ramadan Abu Nahel, who was waiting to audition heard him and gave him his number saying, "I know I won't reach the finals but you will."
He sang Ragheb Alama's song during one of the primes on Arab Idol. Alama surprised him with a gesture in appreciation for his performance, granting him the right to sing and release his song "Ya Rayt Fiyyi Khabiha" as a duet with the Lebanese singer.[citation needed] Ahlam, an Emirati singer and judge on the show, said of Assaf, "I feel when you are singing, I am the guest in a big concert and you are the star," while Lebanese singer Nancy Ajram was impressed with him, calling Assaf "a true singer" after one of his performances. Hassan El Shafei compared Assaf's voice to a tuner, indicating how Assaf has complete control over his voice.
Assaf's final performance was his rendition of "Ali al-keffiyeh" ("Raise Your Keffiyeh"), a Palestinian nationalist anthem and called on Palestinians to raise their keffiyehs (a traditional Arab headdress that has become a Palestinian nationalist symbol) and to unite, in light of the split between the two major Palestinian factions, Hamas and Fatah. Hundreds of thousands of Palestinians had watched tuned in to watch his performance. On 22 June Assaf was declared the winner of Arab Idol, winning the most votes and coming ahead of two other competitors, Ahmed Jamal and Farah Youssef, from Egypt and Syria, respectively. Massive celebrations by Palestinians ensued after the announcement of his victory, including festivities held on the streets of Gaza City, East Jerusalem, Nablus,Ramallah, Bethlehem, Khan Yunis, Nazareth, Lebanon and Jordan.
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